Floss's Letter
by The Purple Kit-Kat
Summary: Floss (short for Florence) has a missing brother. She can do magic but her magic isn't strong enough yet to find him. So instead she sends him letters from her little apartment in Elopis City where her friends are always staying in to keep her company. Better then it sounds, I think, but this is my first story being uploaded here, okay? Don't hate me. OC x Ryou. Lots of drabble...


December 12 Dear Alex,

I was just thinking, you know, that you might be lonely, being lost and all, so I'd. . . oh, screw it, Alex. Where are you? You've been gone a long time now, and I miss you. Can you at least come home for Christmas? Look at me! I'm actually writing you a letter! In pen and everything! When's the last time I've done that? Well, aside from last week.. But my point is, I don't do this very often.

I've been trying to pretend that you're still here, big brother. But as you know, it's very difficult for me to look at a picture taped to a doll and pretend that they are still there, which is so not what I've been doing. Honest. 'Cause that's just pathetic. Rin and I keep making extra dinner on accident so now our fridge is stocked high with leftovers. Everyone ends up eating something different on most nights. Like, I might be eating that lasagna that you adore while Ryou is eating steak and Rin's having tomato soup.

Winter is almost here, Alex. Do you have a coat and everything? And a hat? And warm shoes? Could you write back like last time, Alex? I miss you. I can say that over and over again, and you'd still not know how much it's true.

I.

Miss.

You.

I miss you.

Wish you were here,

Florence Lillian Reno ^-^

* * *

Floss set down her favorite pen. She does miss Alex, and even more than she said. It's been killing her, and she doesn't know what to do. Somehow, though, she knows when her brother is someplace where he can accept mail, and when she gets that feeling, she immediately drops whatever it is she's doing and goes to write to him. Sometimes right in the middle of a meal. Which is what she had done this time.

Floss has improved at her magic quite a bit since her brother went missing because of the fact that she's easily distracted and when she focuses, she actually FOCUSES. All other thoughts are thrown into the trash and she zeroes in on her objective. Which is how she practiced her magic.

She seals the envelope using magic that is to release only at Alex's touch unless she dispels it. Then, carefully opening the window beside her desk, she whispered the spell words:_ "mitto ad Alex Philip Reno."_ And out the window the envelope went. Another spell to help it on its way: _"iter ei tutum, epistolis."_ Safe journey, letter.

When she comes back downstairs, she saw that nothing really happened when she dropped her fork and ran upstairs to write to Alex, since Rin and Ryou have long since grown accustomed to Floss's drop-and-run routine. With a sigh, she looks down at the no-longer-appetizing lasagna left to go cold on the plate. Grudgingly, she holds a hand over the food and mutters_, "clara et mundis._" Her hand flashes with blue light, and when the light has faded the plate is empty and sparkling.

Ryou's British voice floated up from the couch. "I still think that magic stuff you girls do is bloody terrifying." It's muffled like he's talking with his mouth full.

"Are you eating those chocolates, Ryou?"

Hesitation. ". . . No . . ."

"Then is it a creampuff?"

"Um . . . No. . ."

"Oh! I get it! It's both, isn't it?"

"Bloody hell,* Floss! You cheated!"

"Did not!" Floss smiled as the blue glow faded just before Ryou's eyes met hers. His brimmed with playful suspicion and hers with amusement and false innocence.

"You have stuff all over your face," she announced helpfully.

He gave her what should have been an annoyed look but didn't look like one, which she promptly laughed at as he got up to wash his face, leaving a little trail of chocolate wrappers and creampuff remains.

"Say," Floss said, with a frown, "weren't Aerith and Yuffie coming by today?"

"Already did," Ryou gurgled from the sink. "While you were writing." He straightened, toweled off his face, and turned so that she could see that his bangs were dripping. He had no idea that they were, and it was really quite adorable. Floss hid her blush as he said, "Aerith and Rin went shopping, and Yuffie went to go do Yuffie stuff." That was their name for whatever it was that Yuffie did in her free time.

"Huh," said Floss. And the day was as ordinary as ever after that.

* * *

Yuffie supposed she was on Yuffie Time, but maybe watching (and totally not stalking) Floss wasn't the best way to spend it. She'd been watching Floss for some time now, ever since Alex sent that note saying he'd escaped and was on the run back home:

Dear Everyone,

I am on the run. Gah, that sounded so cliche, didn't it. Anyways, that's the truth. I am on the run. I'm coming home (or at least trying to.). Don't expect me back anytime soon, and don't worry about me. Just wait, 'cause I will be home.

Alex

Yuffie thought she was faring pretty well, except when she wrote to him. Then her emotional recovery slid backwards a little. She had soon gotten used to a steady rhythm: eat whatever delicious breakfast Ponytail has concocted and take a snack for later because she may not get back for lunch. Luckily, Ponytail has also gotten accustomed to the rhythm, and so leaves a snack for her on the counter.

Surveillance starts a little bit after breakfast, when Yuffie has finished her daily kata* and target practice. Then after cleaning up (because Aerith insists every day) she drops into shinobi-iri* and slips over to Floss's room. Nowadays she just watches through the window, clinging to the wall, but in the first week or so she used to go inside and sit in a shadow, hiding in plain sight and trying very very very hard not to make a sound.

The first time Floss wrote a letter, Yuffie was worried. About what, she still wasn't sure, but the way she froze and stared at nothing made her skin pretend it was made of ice, and the desperation with which she scribbled made Yuffie want to run at her and hug her arms to her sides.

Except that she knew that if she did, she would get a very nice welcome with Floss's hand and a blue thing that could get very, very sharp without using a. . . sharpener thingy.

What were those called again?

Anyways, when she finished writing and the letter was stuck in an envelope and everything, she_ sealed it with her finger_ and_ talked to it!_ Yuffie thought she was going coconuts with grief or something when she_ talked to it again_ and then_ threw the freaking envelope out the window_ and, as Yuffie watched, _started to freaking fly!_ It was really quite something.

Yuffie used some of her awesome ninja-tastic skills to decide whether or not she should follow it. But the longer she pondered this, the farther the letter got, so in the end she just decided she should.

And, she realized after taking off at lightning speed, she would be able to see where the Amazing Al had gone off to. Scurrying through the nearby trees, she wondered briefly what was written on the letter. She considered catching it and trying to read it, but then she remembered that she couldn't read.

_ No matter,_ Yuffie thought carelessly_. It's really not important, though, I don't need to know what she wrote._

_ Okay, fine,_ she snuffed to herself_, I sort of do. She surged after the note. Wonder why, though._

* * *

When Alex got the letter, he figured it was almost rather homey.

Well, it wasn't homey at all when he found it (or rather it found him.), but just reading it made him think of home, and imagining Floss's voice reading it to him was all the worthwhile and convinced him to keep it with him, as he did with all her other letters.

Leaning back on the old couch stuffing that had taken a little longer than he would've liked to gather, he started thinking, mostly of Floss. Her face appeared, smiling and laughing at whatever stupid thing he had just done. Next it crumpled and began to weep, oblivious to the guilt it was causing all around her. Then it all cleared, her face becoming calm and serene, lip-syncing/humming to a song that she liked but hardly knew. This was the face that everyone saw most often - her default face, basically. All of a sudden, her face split into various peals of horror. The screaming terrified him and he sat up with a terrified jolt, resisting the urge to yell. He leaned forward, head in his hands, and rubbed his face. Then he spread his fingers so that he could see his feet.

Floss. . . Her default face reappeared. Then he thought of Ryou, Rin, Aerith, Yuffie, his mom, his dad, and back again. Floss. . . Ryou . . . Rin . . . Aerith . . . Yuffie . . . Mom . . . Dad . . . Floss.

Alex fell asleep thinking in circles.

_Alex shifted in his bed. It wasn't exactly as comfy as his home bed, but it was good enough. He was tired, so very tired . . . and someone was calling his name._

_The voice was high and consistent, and yet it was a question and not a command. He cracked his eyes open with some difficulty and looked towards the direction of the voice. There was a little girl in the doorway, and she radiated innocence and pure joy. Her round, shining eyes were the color of rich, warm milk chocolate mixed with gold paint. When she saw him wake, she smiled and practically floated over to his bedside._

_"Wakey, wakey, big brother," she said. Alex knew immediately from the sound of her voice that she was a singer. "Up you get, Alex, Aerith made you breffast." **That** got Alex up. Inhaling deeply, he shoved aside the covers and hugged the girl, who squealed happily and giggled. They went down the hall hand in hand, and when they reached the kitchen everyone Alex had ever known and liked was crammed inside. There were all his elementary school buddies, the few girls he had befriended in middle school, his old band teacher, his mom, his . . . his dad? Little Floss let go of his hand and ran around hugging everyone around the knees. While she did that, Alex realized that none of her own friends were there. So how was it that there wasn't even a smidge of unhappiness in her eyes?_

_Floss started aging. She had appeared as a three-year-old, but now, with every person she hugged, she grew a year older. Alex noticed that she was avoiding one person and one person only. It was Ryou. Ryou noticed, unfortunately, and he frowned a little, but seeing as he was nearly as good as Floss in hiding his emotions, the moment of hurt disappeared completely. Eventually Floss had given hugs to everyone except him, even to Alex. The hurt became more noticeable, and now he hunched slightly, eyes downcast, and he radiated sadness. Luckily, Floss became guilty and came to him. She was thirteen now, and she whispered an apology and hugged him tenderly. When she came away she was her normal age of fourteen . . . the image faded. Alex didn't dream after that._


End file.
